Heretofore, various types of coin or token hoppers have been known and utilized in the changer and dispensing art. A very prevalent type is that known as an indirect pay-out hopper in which coins are loaded into a hold or escrow position from which they are subsequently dispensed when the validity of tendered currency is determined. In such prior art, a belt is often times used to transport coins from a bulk chamber to a chute or channel in which they are maintained until a pay-out is requested. In these systems, two steps for any pay-out are required, the first being the loading of the chute or channel and the second being the actual vending of the coins.
In the prior art, the reloading of the pay-out stack slows down the entire dispensing process. Obviously, there is a limitation on the number of coins that can be placed in each chute or channel, depending upon the length thereof. Such prior art systems do not work well for dispensing coins for changing currency in amounts of five dollars and up. Prior art channels typically hold a maximum of ten coins and, accordingly, to change a five dollar bill to quarters would require an initial dispensing operation, a delay while the channel is reloaded, and a subsequent dispensing operation. The time consumed is aggravated for larger denominations of currency.
Known direct pay-out hoppers have typically incorporated a large rotating disk having protrusions thereon which engaged coions and carried them past a stripper where plural coins were separated from each other and subsequently dispensed by gravity. Such prior systems were tyically slow in operation and required repetitive adjustments and servicing to assure proper operation.
In light of the foregoing, there was found to be a need for a direct pay-out hopper which is rapid and reliable in operation. The need for such a hopper which would accommodate the changing of large bills in short time cycles became apparent. Further, it became apparent that it would be most desirable to dispense the coins directly from a bulk hopper without having to transport the coins to an escrow or hold position first. Accordingly, the only limitation for the number of coins to be dispensed in a single dispensing operation would be the volume of the hopper itself. It further became desirable to provide a direct pay-out changer which would have the capability of not only dispensing coins more rapidly, but of holding more coins in the same physical space as the prior art systems.